The Echo of Latowidge
by HawkAngel13
Summary: Vincent sends Echo off on a mission to spy on his adopted brother, Eliot Nightray, and his servant, Leo. There, she is in disguise and has the oppurtunity to have her own emotions. -set before Eliot's death-
1. Chapter 1

Latowidge Academy- Mid Autumn

Echo walked through the halls, in the girls' uniform. Her expression blank as could be, but inside she was incredibly uncomfortable. The vest was too loose, her knife had been confiscated for the mission, and she missed her tall, white boots. She held two textbooks at her side, and her other arm hung loose, as she began to step more quickly, spotting Eliot Nightray.

-earlier in the month-

_"Echo," Vincent beckoned her calmly from his seat. _

_She looked up from her knife that she had been cleaning, "Yes?" _

_"Come here," he ordered softly. _

_She stood and walked to his seat, resting a hand on it, standing by his side. He sewed a teddy bear together, just to cut it up again. He smiled as he finished stitching an arm back on. _

_"I have a new mission for you."_

_"Yes, Vincent-sama," she replied, her tone flat and emotionless. _

_"I want you to spy on Eliot Nightray for me, Echo," he said, lifting a hand to rest on her arm by her side._

_"Yes, Vincent-sama."_

_He pulled her around to the front of his chair, so that he looked up at her, his multi-colored eyes piercing her with his decieving softness. He let go of the needle in his other hand and held both her hands in his own. Echo held his gaze blankly, but her stomach lurched at the contact. _

_"I want you to watch him every day, as a student, and keep hidden as you can. Write down everything you find out, everything he does, things about his servant, and send the information to me by messenger," he explained. _

_"Yes. . . . .Vincent-sama," she hesitated slightly. _

_Vincent noticed, his gaze hardening, "Is there a problem, Echo?"_

_She silently took in a quick breath, "No, Vincent-sama."_

_He smiled softly, and pulled her gently to sit on the arm of the chair, "Echo. . . . . You cannot decieve me. I know you're hiding something. Tell me. . . . now. . . . ." _

_She stayed silent, "Echo could not hide anything from Vincent-sama."_

_He let out a soft 'hmm', "Don't try anything, Echo. Remember where your loyalties lie. You don't have a choice." _

_She looked out the window, the slightest bit of sorrow slipping into her expression, "Yes, Vincent-sama." _

-back to present time-

Echo did not want to spy on the Nightray boy, it seemed wrong. She was a servant for the Nightray house. . . .

No. She was a servant for Vincent Nightray. Vincent, who had such little care as to spy on his own adopted brother. Vincent, who could threaten Echo with a soft smile, because she knew the consiquences of betrayal. She had only tried to fool him once, and got off with a warning, but he had used every threat he could think of that time. She wouldn't be so ignorant to try it again.

She walked into her next class, and pretended to listen as she used context clues to answer questions on her quiz. All the while, more thoughts ran through her mind.

_'Why must I be the only servant to Vincent-sama? Perhaps, if he had another, I wouldn't have to do such missions as the one I am on now,' _she thought curiously.

_"Echo! You should be proud to devote your life to Vincent! Vincent is the calmest, smartest, most beautiful person you could be a servant to," _Zwei's voice sounded through her mind crossly.

Echo's thoughts immediately stopped, and she actually tried to focus on the test, just so Zwei couldn't protest. When the class ended, she stepped lightly out of the room, carrying her books and pencils. She sped to the bathroom, and waited a moment, then exiting, coming out a few people behind Eliot Nightray and his servant, Leo.

She watched as he began to walk toward the library, carrying three volumes of a series. Leo had two books of the same series as well. She followed them into the library, casually skimming over the spines of books a few isles over from them. Her silver hair had been tucked up beneath a black-brown wig, and she had side bangs that covered her right eye.

She walked down the isle slowly, listening to the sound of pages turning, and stumbled upon a series called "The Holy Knight". She curiously picked up the first volume and examined the worn cover.

"Volume 1? Are you just now starting to read the series?" a voice asked her.

She quickly lifted her head to look up at a smiling Leo. His hair wildly stuck out, and his glasses prevented her from seeing his eyes. She blinked, unaware of how to respond.

"Um-" she began, and then she realized quickly, she was in disguise. She had to shift her tone of voice, and she could show emotion as she liked!

"Yes, I saw you carrying a few volumes of it, and became quite curious," she replied with a shy smile, the pitch of her voice a bit higher, masking her natural tone.

"It _is_ a rather interesting series. I, myself, am on volume 23," he explained, holding up a book in his hand.

She gaped slightly, "There are so many of them. You must be a very avid reader!"

She felt a flutter in her stomach as she acted her way through the conversation.

Leo laughed, "Not nearly as avid as my master, Eliot."

"Yes?" Eliot asked, walking around the end of the isle toward them.

"Oh, I didn't call you. I was telling Miss- Oh. . . My apoligies, what's your name, miss?" Leo asked curiously.

She quickly lied, using the fake name she'd been assigned to use, "Alicia. (AN: Pronounced- Aleesya.)"

"My name is Eliot Nightray, this is my servant, Leo," Eliot introduced calmly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Echo said quietly and politely.

"The pleasure is all ours, I assure you," Leo smiled kindly.

She smiled shyly and looked back at her book, opening to the first page. Eliot watched me curiously, and his expression became very confused.

"Do we know you from somewhere, Alicia?" he asked, his head tilted slightly to one side.

She looked up at him quickly, "Hmm? I don't believe so. . . "

Leo nodded, his smile disappearing, "Yes, I do think I've seen you somewhere before."

Echo shook her head, frowning, "I haven't seen you before until today."

"Have you been at Latowidge since the beginning of the school year?" Eliot asked.

"No, I transferred about a month ago," Echo replied, looking up at the top shelf dazedly, desperate for them to stop questioning.

"Hmm. How rude of us to not yet introduce ourselves until just now," Leo thought aloud.

Echo shook her head, standing on her toes to reach for a book with a silver design on the spine, "It's fine, I tend to be overlooked often," she replied with a sigh.

Eliot stepped up beside her and straightened up to grab the book she was reaching for, holding it out to her, "We hope you like it here."

She hesitantly took the book from his hand, "Thank you. . . . "

The two boys waved goodbye and Echo felt herself blushing red. She smiled to herself and carried her books to her dorm. She began to frown as she noticed that she'd have to write down everything about the event, and then soon read a letter from Vincent. She already knew that he'd tell her to not get friendly, to just keep observing from afar. Then, he'd probably spoil The Holy Knight for her, just to make her stop reading them.

Echo sighed, "What a frustrating situation I seem to be in. . . . . . "


	2. Chapter 2

Echo sat at the small desk in her dorm, writing the letter of information quickly. Her handwriting was smooth and crafted beautifully, as she scribbled along with the news. She didn't dare leave out her confrontation with her targets, for fear that Vincent would find out or that he already knew.

As she finished, a knock came at her door. She stood and opened it just a crack, timidly looking out. A few girls stood there, all in their nightgowns. Echo frowned in confusion, and the girl in front smiled kindly.

"Hi! I'm Maryll," she greeted, her green eyes glimmering. She pulled on one of her brown curls and gestured to the orange-haired girl beside her, "This is Cassie."

The other girl with dark blue-gray hair pulled on her braid awkwardly, "I'm Eden. . . . "

Echo blinked at them, "Can I help you. . . . . . ?"

Cassie smiled widely, "Would you like to talk with us?"

Echo looked down the halls, and opened the door for them. She had a feeling they had heard about her encounter earlier that day, but decided it was better to not be suspicious by turning them away. They all sat down on her bed, curious and excited. Echo pulled her desk chair out and hid her letters, sitting down silently.

"So, um, what's your name again?" Maryll asked kindly.

"Alicia," she muttered, sitting indian-style in her seat.

"Well, Alicia, we've realized that you've been here a while, but you have yet to make any friends," Cassie explained.

"We'd like to correct that," Eden finished for her friend softly.

Echo blinked, faking suprise, "Oh. . . . . "

"What books do you read? Have you ever read 'The Princesses Club'?" Cassie asked excitedly.

"No, I don't believe I have," Echo replied.

"It's a good series, the main princess and her friends-"

"I saw you picking up 'The Holy Knight' books earlier," Maryll cut Eden off abruptly.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I've heard it's quite the popular read," she replied carefully.

"Maybe for _boys_," Maryll countered.

Cassie grinned and nodded, "Yeah, boys like Elliot. . . . . . "

Eden corrected her friend, "And Leo. . . . "

Echo was quickly unamused, "You came here just to hear about Elliot and Leo."

The girls turned to her, pouting, "Won't you tell us?"

_'Ha! They didn't even try to defend themselves!' _Echo thought to herself.

"Elliot Nightray and Leo are very kind boys," she replied to them calmly.

They all crossed their arms and frowned, whispering to eachother quietly. Echo sat in her chair, shifting uncomfortably as they conversed. Finally, Eden turned away from her friends and smiled at Echo, mouthing the words, 'Don't worry'. After several moments of quietly conversing, Maryll stood, stepping forward toward Echo. Eden looked shocked and shot Echo look of warning.

"What were you writing?" Maryll asked, her green eyes piercing.

"A letter," Echo said truthfully, shoving the papers under her library books.

"To whom?"

Maryll stepped forward again, arms crossed, her grin sinister. Echo kept her gaze steady, hard and unmoving, "Someone important back home."

"_How_ important?" Maryll asked, her evil smile getting wider.

Echo gritted her teeth, her face growing warm, "_Very_ important, that is all you need to know. I would appreciate it if you did not press the issue."

"Maryll, she's blushing! Perhaps it's a love letter?" Cassie piped up happily.

Maryll smiled happily over her shoulder, "Brilliant."

"But is it, really?" she added, looking back at Echo.

Echo swallowed hard, her stomach flipping at the thought, but she replied, "Y-Yes. . . . . "

"Well, that's settled," Maryll sighed, turning to leave.

Cassie and Maryll left the room, and didn't even notice that Eden hadn't budged. Eden was blushing, looking at the floor as she brought her legs up, resting her chin on her knees. Echo watched her for a moment, and turned to continue writing. After all, she wasn't hurting anything, and surely she wouldn't read over her shoulder. Even if she tried, Echo would hear her getting up for sure. She wrote swiftly, hoping to finish her report and actually get to rest her eyes for an hour or two.

"What is he like. . . . . . . . . ?"

Echo blinked blankly, turning in her seat to look at Eden, "Excuse me?"

"The very important person you are writing to, what is he like?" Eden asked, a sullen look coating her face.

Echo thought for a moment and sighed in exasperation, "Impatient, demanding, very odd."

Eden lifted her gaze to Echo, confused, "Then-"

"But he's also forgiving, protective, determined," Echo added, trying very hard to be truthful yet still say _something_ nice about Vincent.

"What does he . . . . . look like, if you don't mind me asking," Eden replied, now very curious but still polite.

Echo decided it would not matter if Eden knew what Vincent looked like, considering the likelihood that she'd ever see him wasn't good.

"Well, he has two different colored eyes."

Eden smiled a bit, pleased with the answer, "How interesting he must be. . . . . "

After more silence, Eden finally excused herself and left, Echo giving her a polite goodbye. She finished her daily report and locked up her stationary in the small box Vincent had given it to her in. Closing her curtains, she finally laid back on her small bed, relaxing. At last, she was able to sleep without someone hounding her about doing something. Sleep was a neccessity, but Vincent-sama had never seen Echo as the type of being to need neccessities. However, despite what she thought, she _was_ somewhat human, wasn't she? Her mind wandered, wondering if having Zwei was a normal human mental problem, or if it had something to do with Abyss. . .

Perhaps she'd ask Vincent one day, surely he'd know what had happened to her that caused Zwei to exist. . . . . . .


End file.
